Social Entrepreneurship in 2020: Crisismanagement & creative solutions

What effect did the sudden lockdown have on the entrepreneurs we support? How can we help them keep their businesses running and solvent? These questions became intensely urgent in March 2020. So we cleared our schedules to help them find answers. The continuity of these valuable social enterprises was our main focus over the past year.

For the vulnerable employees of social enterprises, the predictable routine and the daily contact with other people is exactly what they need. So we asked the businesses: what can you do for your employees under the circumstances? And how can you minimize the hardships they face due to the new control measures?

Some social enterprises immediately suffered major setbacks due to the coronavirus pandemic. The hospitality industry is one example, as are start-ups and scale-ups without much ‘meat on their bones’ in the form of financial reserves. So first, we offered all social enterprises that we finance a six-month moratorium on repayment and interest. That gave the entrepreneurs more breathing space, and fewer things to worry about. Ten businesses also needed bridge loans to make it through the rough patch. From the very beginning, we joined forces with other funds to offer support to social enterprises. These partnerships were set up quickly, and they proved to be invaluable.

As an impact lender, we not only strengthen social enterprises financially, but also by sharing knowledge and bringing them into contact with interesting partners. We serve as a sounding board for the entrepreneurs, and we maintain intensive contact with them. That support was greatly appreciated by social entrepreneurs in 2020. Last year, we also provided external coaching to a number of social enterprises to help them with their operations.

Many social enterprises have come up with creative solutions to keep working and to maintain their earnings through online activities, adjusting their work methods, and sometimes even changing their business models. We shared their inspiring examples with everyone we could to give other entrepreneurs bright ideas of their own. Their decisive action and creativity helped to limit the impact of the pandemic on their vulnerable employees.

Even during a crisis - or perhaps especially during a crisis - there are people who see opportunities and get new initiatives off the ground. Some entrepreneurs seize the chance to scale up their businesses and experience rapid growth. In 2020, we provided a total of 27 new loans to both startups and organizations experiencing a growth spurt. We also helped 12 existing clients to scale up their activities.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, social entrepreneurs had to worry about how they could successfully market their products. That became an even bigger challenge when they were forced to close their stores last spring. Fortunately, online channels present an excellent solution. Starting in 2021, we will offer entrepreneurs a course in Online Sales and Marketing. The course will teach them how to approach their target customers in order to sell their products online.

The Netherlands is home to a growing number of ‘impact enterprises’ – companies that devote all their efforts to helping vulnerable people and to moving society forward. But these companies still experience a wide range of obstacles to start or grow. The Impact Entrepreneurship City Deal helps to bridge those obstacles to clear the path for more social enterprises. In early 2021, we joined the Deal to combine our efforts with those of dozens of influential partners in the Netherlands.

We are eager to share knowledge and expertise to help social enterprises get ahead – both our own and that of our external partners. This year, we started a fruitful collaboration with THRIVE, a think-and-do-tank for the purpose economy, to develop new possibilities for social entrepreneurs.

The TV series De Wasstraat gave many people in the Netherlands a heartwarming introduction to a social enterprise. The series showed how people who have difficulty finding paid employment join together to run a car wash, and highlighted their resilience and positive attitude. We sat down with the series producer to talk about building on the program’s success in the province.